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Join SPTF’s “Profitability in Microfinance” webinar on Friday

SPTF invites you to join a webinar discussion between Michael Chu (IGNIA Fund) and Chuck Waterfield (MFTransparency) on Friday, May 24 at 8 AM (EDT / GMT – 4). For dial-in info jump to the bottom. (There is no need to register beforehand.)

Profitability in Microfinance: How Much is Too Much? (Or is that the right question?)

In the past twenty years, microfinance has shifted from a field dominated by highly subsidized NGOs to an industry in which many microfinance institutions are earning substantial profits. While industry consensus has long been in favor of building a sustainable business approach, many are now concerned about the levels of profits being made. A question often asked is “How much profit is too much?” – when we make those profits from the poor and when we label ourselves as “social” or “double bottom line” businesses.

Each of the presenters will offer their views on that question. The webinar will then have a period of discussion between the two of them, followed by questions and answers with the webinar participants.

Michael Chu is Managing Director of the IGNIA Fund, an investment firm based in Monterrey, Mexico, dedicated to investing in commercial enterprises serving low-income populations in Latin America, which he co-founded in 2007. Under his chairmanship, microfinance pioneer BancoSol became the most profitable bank in Bolivia, and he participated in the founding of Mibanco in Peru and Compartamos Banco, which has been incorporated into the index of the Mexican Stock Exchange. He is also a Senior Lecturer in the Initiative on Social Enterprise at the Harvard Business School. (Learn more about Michael in an interview on NextBillion.net)

Chuck Waterfield is founder and CEO of MicroFinance Transparency, which promotes transparency by facilitating pricing disclosure, offering policy advisory services, and developing training and education materials. He has 25 years of experience in microfinance, including starting MFIs in Haiti and Bolivia and serving as microenterprise director for both MEDA and CARE International. He developed Microfin, the widely used financial planning tool and teaches business planning courses around the world. He is on the faculty of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and was formerly on the faculty of the Boulder Microfinance Training Program and Southern New Hampshire University’s Microenterprise Development Institute.